Summary

Many journalists, at some point in their careers, have had an “Ah-hah!” moment -- a sudden realization about the impact of their work or the work of their colleagues. Many of the journalists interviewed for the WNN report provided a single anecdote about an event that helped them understand and appreciate the power and purpose of journalism. We are sharing those epiphanies here.

Michael Becker was convinced that citizen journalism was fated to be “the wave of the future” until he closely watched the coverage of a gas explosion in downtown Bozeman, Mont., in March 2009. Twitter feeds flowed through the day, but Becker says when he saw the next morning’s Bozeman Daily Chronicle he realized “it takes a newspaper – or at least paid journalists – to do the best job.”

Nick Ehli was a young reporter in Billings, Mont., when he decided to do a story about six-man football in the tiny community of Custer, Mont. He enjoyed writing the story, but was deeply touched when he learned how his reporting affected a tough rancher near that small Montana town.

As a young man watching his father’s management of a daily newspaper, The Bonner County Daily Bee, in Sandpoint, Idaho, Jim Thompson learned how precious was the power of the press. Thompson watched his father abruptly fire two assistant editors who did not respect his wishes that his newspaper report “all sides of an issue.” Thompson saw newspapering in a new light after that incident.

Kathy Best tells the story of her decision, while at the Seattle PI, to re-investigate a sensational child abuse case in Wenatchee, Wash., after one of her colleagues said, “There’s something not right about this.” Best got flack in her newsroom for the assignment to recheck the story, but it paid off when the truth came out and the arrests were proven unwarranted.

Suki Dardarian sees “the power and purpose of journalism” in her newspaper every day. She cites a recent article, “Seniors for Sale” (included in The Times enterprise story collection), that reports on the mishandling of senior citizens in adult family homes. “Nobody knew about these situations,” says Dardarian.

After a Vietnamese family suffocated during a Seattle cold snap when they used a charcoal burner to heat their home, David Boardman says The Times acted in a unique manner to protect the city’s non-English speaking public. Boardman says “it said to these new arrivals -- this is what a newspaper does!”

Frank Blethen tells the stories of The Times’ coverage of Boeing 737 flaws and the misdeeds of Washington Congressman Brock Adams – two instances when pressure was put on the newspaper to constrain its coverage.

Mark Zusman says, “On a regular basis, at Willamette Week, I am reminded both of the responsibility of what we do and yet the power of what we do -- even in this small little corner of the world.” He provides several examples to verify his point.

Richard Meeker was bitten by journalism while growing up in Washington, D.C., in the 1970s, hanging out with a schoolmate who was the child of Katharine Graham, the publisher of the Washington Post. Seeing the drama of Watergate played out in the Graham household, Meeker learned “what journalism was all about.” He sees that community service mission fulfilled in ways large and small at Willamette Week.